nikkor-z-dx 12-28mm

[Fons Baerken]

The new z-dx 12-28/3.5-5.6 zoom

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/mirrorless-lenses/nikkor-z-dx-12-28mm-f%252f3.5-5.6-pz-vr.html

[Birna Rørslett]

They set a surprisingly low price for this lens. It's likely optimised for the Z30. Very light weight, too.

At present, I'm moderately interested.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Has anyone yet tested this lens?

Is the zooming internal so the lens doesn't extend when zoomed?

I am trying to figure out a lens + camera combination that would work well on a DJI RS 3 Mini gimbal stabilizer.

I did a shoot with that gimbal and used the Z8 with 50/1.8 S. It worked well but initial balancing didn't go perfectly; the camera is just too tall and only via iterative process did I find an acceptable balance with all axis on green. The Z8 is not officially supported by DJI for this gimbal but the light weight got me into buying it, I had assumed they will support it but the camera is just too new to react. But after using this combination I suspect it will not be recommended. I thought the outcome was good and there were no issues with the stability of the footage. However, I am scared to walk backwards with an expensive kit in my hands while shooting, and would prefer to have a smaller camera that is less expensive for these shoots where the video has to be taken from a camera that moves along with the subject.

So I have been thinking about the 18-28mm and a DX camera such as the Z fc. It would be nice to hear if someone has used the zoom and how the image quality is, and the autofocus.

[Fons Baerken]

As far as the Nikon Z fc i limit myselves with the Viltrox 13mm, 23mm, 56mm f/1.4 lenses, (and the kitlens 16-50mm), a Viltrox 75mm f/1.2 is about available also. So no 12-28 for me.

https://fstoppers.com/reviews/review-nikon-nikkor-z-dx-12-28mm-f35-56-pz-vr-lens-634773

Tom Hogan's review is a positive one.

https://www.sansmirror.com/lenses/lens-reviews/lenses-for-nikon-z-dx/nikon-12-28mm-f35-56-dx.html

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Grays of Westminster youtube channel has a comparison between the 12-28mm Z PZ DX with 10-20mm, 10-24mm and 12-24mm F-mount Nikkors. The 12-28mm PZ was the highest quality lens optically, according to this assessment. It's interesting considering the low cost of the lens!

[Øivind Tøien]

They are testing sharpness wide open, which is not very relevant for landscapes, except for night scenes where shutter speed is critical, like aurora. The 12-24mm can be tricky to provide the right focus. When I purchased it, there was also a lot of sample variation, I went through multiple copies before I landed on my final one. Good to see the new DX lens doing so well.